Asiatic wild ass now on endangered list; Population Down By 52% In 16 Years The IUCN report mentions that the Little Rann of Kutch faces direct threat from increasing human activities. The ecology of the wild ass sanctuary, for example, is threatened by a canal building project -the Sardar Sarovar Project of the Narmada Development Authority. It also points out how the rising numbers of grazing livestock leads to stiff competition for natural reserves. Salt mining, a major economic industry for local people, has increased 140% since 1958.
Tag: Pollution
Dams, Rivers & People News Bulletin, August 17, 2015
HYDROPOWER
UTTARAKHAND: National Institute of Disaster Management asks Govt. to make disaster study must for Uttarakhand hydel projects (17 Aug. 2015) This is good to see, it uses almost the exact language some of us having using since the disaster.
SIKKIM: Lanco in talks to sell Sikkim hydro power project (11 Aug. 2015) The Lanco group confirmed that it is in talks with strategic investors to sell its 500 megawatt (MW) hydro-electric power plant in Sikkim, as part of an effort to consolidate its businesses and reduce debt.
ARUNACHAL PRADESH: Neha Sinha (BNHS) in her article titled A bird, a dam and a belief explores the ethical and environmental aspects intertwined with construction of Nyamjang Chhu dam which will destroy the habitat of the Black-necked crane at Zemithang in Arunachal Pradesh. The Save Mon Region Federation (SMRF), a group spear-headed by local Buddhist Lamas, has challenged the environmental clearance in the NGT. LIFE are the lawyers for petitioners. Sanjay Upadhyay and Raj Panjwani are lawyers for Bhilwara group.
MANIPUR: Why Manipur is flooded (12 Aug. 2015) Interesting to see Down to Earth sees role of dams in Manipur floods: On the other hand continuing their agitation Mapithel dam affected downstream people hold protest meet (16 Aug. 2015) Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Mapithel Dam Downstream Affected People organized a protest meeting at Tumukhong Village, Imphal East District. The meeting demanded immediate rehabilitation and resettlement of Mapithel Dam affected people in the downstream areas. Also get to see a special news report on 26 years long protest of Chandog village against Mapithal Dam.
Continue reading “Dams, Rivers & People News Bulletin, August 17, 2015”
Dams, Rivers & People News Bulletin (April-May 2015)
HYDROPOWER
“Right now, hydel is almost stalled”: Piyush Goyal (18 May 2015)
Union Power Minister makes some candid comments on Hydro: “Right now, hydel is almost stalled. We have Teesta stuck for various reasons. Subansiri, Maheshwar, Lower Subansiri, all of them have different challenges. Small hydros are facing challenges of transmission, they are facing challenges of local area problems. So, by and by, the hydro sector will need a more holistic thinking. The courts have also taken up certain matters, particularly in Uttarakhand, post the tragedy (of floods in 2013). There is the mission of Ganga to ensure that there is a reasonable flow—Aviral Ganga, which we are committed to. We are working on all of these plans… For example, Subansiri had an issue where the local population had concerns. We immediately got an eight-member very, very high-level expert committee, including Central Water Commission, Central Electricity Authority, and experts from Assam. They are all working together to see the environmental impact, structural impact, riparian state impact and riverbed impact.
http://www.livemint.com/Industry/9HtQbGUG0v4rYIczIT21hJ/Time-is-now-ripe-for-a-power-fund-says-Piyush-Goyal.html Continue reading “Dams, Rivers & People News Bulletin (April-May 2015)”
Blow by Blow, how pollution kills the Yamuna river: A Field Trip Report
Yamuna River from Hathini Kund Barrage to Delhi (All maps from Google Earth, created by author)
A field trip along the Yamuna River this April 2015 showed how the river is killed blow by blow, by the pollution and diversion. The visit was planned with an objective to study and observe actual status of industrial and domestic pollution reaching River Yamuna via various Escapes and Drains in Haryana, upstream Delhi. A team of two members Sri Manoj Misra, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan and Bhim Singh Rawat, SANDRP spent three days (03-05 April 2015) closely travelling along the river through four districts of Haryana (Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal and Yamuna Nagar) and tracking various drains, escapes (from origin) which pour massive amount of effluents in River Yamuna . Continue reading “Blow by Blow, how pollution kills the Yamuna river: A Field Trip Report”
SANDRP 